Hey guys, I have an e36 m3 and have been looking around for options on a system. I have the Harman Kardon system in mine but I just need something with more punch in it. Im looking to spend around 1k, any ideas on what I should do, and what would give me the best system for that money?

1k and you'll be installing it yourself.


but for that, you can get a decent amp or two, and some nice seperates and small sub...maybe even squeeze in a new head unit.

but not if you pay to have everything installed.


e36's don't lend well to the "i'm going to upgrade speakers...or hu...or ..." and getting MUCH better sound. because of the systems proprietary nature, meaning the crossover for the lousy stock speakers, you need to replace, at a MINIUMUM, the speakers and stock amp.

new Hu will do wonders as well......


it's not all that difficult, especially with all the knowledgeable folks here....if you want to give it a try, people will answer your questions.

Damn, it's like I want to help you out but I'm just sooo tired. Give it till tomorrow morning for people to get this thread rolling.

Do you guys like/dislike the Audiobahn powered subs? for an entry level subwoofer amp combo?

Audiobahn = thumbs down. I constantly read about it sucking out a lot of juice from the battery. There was a guy running 1,000 watts and said there was extreme dimming inside interior and headlights. I have close to 1,000 watts have yet to experience dimming, even at high volumes. Their subs a rice. You can do better for the money.

Gasior, I had a buddy of mines demo his HK system with this $1,500 Eclipse foldout headunit. I was pretty damn impressed.

Well, too late now. I purchased a 12" audiobahn sub on Ebay for 175.00, which isn't a bad price considering they retail for almost double that. The sub is 125 watts RMS and hits pretty good now. I would purchase another.

Hey guys, I have an e36 m3 and have been looking around for options on a system. I have the Harman Kardon system in mine but I just need something with more punch in it. Im looking to spend around 1k, any ideas on what I should do, and what would give me the best system for that money?

A grand is NOT a lot to spend (it seems like it should be, but really it's not!) and I doubt that it would cover installation. However, if you are even remotely handy, you shouldn't have (much) trouble doing the install your self.

With such a limited budget, you need to choose your components carefully and upgrade ONLY the components that will reap the biggest gains in sound quality. These are going to be front compnent speaker plus an amplifier and a subwoofer plus an amplifier.

If you buy a good set of component speakers for the front of your car and power them sufficiently, you can completely eliminate your rear speakers (remove them to 'port' the subwoofer bass from your trunk into the cabin) and you will never even miss them. This is hard for a lot of people to believe, but it is true.

Okay, what to buy. IMO (and I realize that I am somewhat biased here, as I am a CDT owner myself), there is no better 'bang for the buck' component speaker set than the CDT EF series. The CDT EF-51, which features a very nice 5-1/4 inch woofer with a beautiful 1 inch silk dome tweeter and an exceptional crossover. You can get this speaker set for $175 from Don Smith (djdilliodon on AIM) who is an authorized retailer (although last time I checked with him, he was out of stock on these) or for $195 from http://ultimate-sounds.com/, also an authorized retailer. Both of these prices include shipping.

For a subwoofer, and Elemental Design 13Kv.2 is an excellent 12 inch driver for $125 direct from eD (http://www.edesignaudio.com/). To save money, you could pop this sub into a 1.25 c.f. pre-fabbed sealed box which would cost you about $60, and it should sound quite good.

For amps, let's again turn to Elemental Designs. The CDT speakers should get around 150W apiece, so I would get an eD NINe.4 amplifier and bridge it to deliver 150W X 2 @ 4-ohms. This amp will cost you $215 shipped as a Bf.C member. For the subwoofer, get an eD NINe.2 and bridge it to deliver 400W X 1 @ 4-ohms. This amp will run you $195 shipped.

So right now, we are looking at about $800 for speakers, amps, and sub. Now, you've got two options. Option 1 is to retain your stock head unit and call it a day. You can splice into the factory wiring harness and run hi-level inputs into the NINe.4 for the front-stage speakers. Then you can run a lo-pass preamp output from the NINe.4 to the NINe.2 to run the sub. The advantage to this option is that you'll save some money and you'll simplify the installation b/c you won't have to pull new wiring. The disadvantage is that you'll introduce a bit more noise into the signal chain using the hi-level inputs on the amp and you won't have dedicated subwoofer control.

Option 2 is to get an aftermarket head unit. This will give you subwoofer level control, in-dash CD capability, and marginally improved sound quality. It will also make for a more comprehensive installation and cost you a bit more, but generally the results are worth it.

Your remaining $200 is not a lot to spend on a new reciever; I would suggest the Alpine CDA-9847 for $199 from Crutchfield (http://www.crutchfield.com/S-EH5pUsfGsTJ/cgi-bin/Prodview.asp?readmore=true&g=300&I=500CDA9847#Tab)
Alpine quality, variable-color buttons, and a mostly black, conservative looking faceplate that won't stick out like a sore thumb on your dash.

Now, that brings us to your $1000. You will also need to buy about $50 worth of wiring and connectors. DO NOT buy commercally available RCA cables, which are expensive! Instead, get a spool of 16-gauge wire, some Switchcraft or Neutrik jacks, and make your own cables. Cheaper, and you'll have higher-quality cables.

This system will blow you away. Installed properly, you will have the best system you've ever heard.

Good luck!